SHE has represented Scotland more than 100 times after making her international debut at the tender age of 16.

She once scored the goal that clinched the Premier League title for Arsenal Ladies and completed a domestic treble by winning three trophies in one season.

But when Suzanne Grant looks back on her career, a run-of-the-mill game for a small club in the south-west of England in January this year will be right up there with her most unforgettable moments.

Now signed with Celtic, the 29-year-old has spent the last few weeks playing a handful of matches on loan with Bristol outfit Keynsham Town to maintain her fitness when the Scottish women’s season shuts down for winter.

And this year proved to be no different for the female footballer, despite the fact Suzanne became a mum for the first time when son Oscar was born on November 29, weighing a healthy 6lb 8oz.

Suzanne, who plays as a striker, has told how she needed no extra time to return to action on the pitch, with a full game under her belt just five weeks after the induced birth.

She explained: “I had a great pregnancy. Oscar was healthy, I was healthy and my body snapped back into shape quickly. I was really lucky.

“I exercised up until a certain point and that must have helped me when it came to coming back to play.

“I played the full 90 minutes of the game five weeks after he was born.

“I went down there thinking I would maybe play 45 minutes but I felt great and kept going and, before I knew it, I’d played 90 minutes.

“I was surprised myself that I was able to play the full game but I was really chuffed.

“The next day, I felt like I had been in a boxing ring, as I was really sore.

“But that was to be expected because I hadn’t played for a long time.

“I played 90 minutes the following week and I’ve kept going since then.

“Before I even planned to have any children, I always thought if I was still young enough and fit enough, then I wanted to come back and try to play.”

Suzanne puts her quick return to the playing field down to an active lifestyle and continued to train with her Celtic teammates throughout her pregnancy until she started suffering from the condition cholestasis at 35 weeks.

She said: “I had itching all over my body. It was causing me a lot of distress and discomfort and it can be dangerous for the baby. I got induced early at just over 37 weeks.

“I trained up until I was six-and-a-half months’ pregnant. I was determined to keep going, then I got this itch. It was really unbearable, to be honest.

“I decided at six-and-a-half months, with the itching, that enough was enough.

“Training was fine to start with. I had no bump at the start, I felt normal throughout my pregnancy and I just felt really good.

“I played until I was three months pregnant but I couldn’t do the contact stuff at training after three months because I didn’t want to risk any damage to the baby.

“But I did everything else – the running, the drills, passing, shooting.

“It was just the end bit with the games that I couldn’t join in with.

“The team and manager were great. They supported me from day one in my decision to train.

“I had a good time training with the girls and I don’t see why you should give up exercise as a result of being pregnant.”

Suzanne does not believe having a baby should be a barrier to other successful sportswomen, such as pregnant Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill, picking up their careers where they left off once they become a mum.

She said: “Pregnancy isn’t a disability. There’s nothing to say that once you have a baby you can’t lose your baby weight or you can’t get back fit again. Your body changes and it might even change for the better.

“For me, I’ve become stronger as a result of having a baby.

“It’s good to show that women can have babies and still be athletes and take their children with them.”

Originally from Grantown-on-Spey, Suzanne lives in East Kilbride with her fiancé David Winters, the former Dundee United, Ross County and Hamilton Accies striker who plays for Sauchie Juniors.

Suzanne and fiance David Winter with baby Oscar at home in East Kilbride

The beautiful game is a big deal in the Grant family and Suzanne’s twin sister, Shelley, was also a footballer for Glasgow City and Scotland and is married to Cardiff City midfielder Don Cowie.

The next step for Suzanne is to force her way back into Scotland coach Anna Signeul’s plans ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifiers against Poland and Bosnia.

And, if successful, she fully intends to follow in the footsteps of teammate Julie Fleeting by taking baby Oscar with her to away games with the full backing of the Scottish Football Association.

Julie, Scotland’s most high-profile female footballer, paved the way for babies on international trips when she took her first daughter Ella with her to matches abroad after giving birth in July 2009, before having a second daughter in 2012.

Suzanne said: “Anna has reassured me that Oscar will be with me and they will support me all the way.

“My coach at Celtic has been brilliant and really supportive, too.

“It’s reassuring to me that the national coach wants to support me being a mum and supports the idea of me coming back with Oscar.

“I’ve met with Anna and she told me that there’s no reason why being a mum means I can’t come back into the team. Julie has done it before and has already tried taking her baby away with her.

“My target is to get back in the team in April for the World Cup qualifiers. It will be nice for Oscar to see his mum playing.”

As well as being back playing football again, the stunning striker was given another post-baby boost when she was recently named the 10th sexiest female footballer in the world by footy website talkingbaws.com

Suzanne plays for Celtic and has been working hard to keep up her fitness

The only Brit girl to make the 15-strong list, she takes her place in the illustrious company of international beauties such as American Hope Solo and Brazil’s Erika.

But not content with being a yummy mummy and one of the country’s best female footballers, Suzanne is also studying beauty therapy at South Lanarkshire College so that she has other career options when she finally decides to hang up her boots.

The young mum admits that the daunting juggling act of baby, balls and beauty is far from easy but insists it is a challenge she is more than up for.

She added: “It was challenging enough before I had Oscar.

“Having a baby is difficult enough without going to college full-time and playing football full-time. It can be very tiring at times.

“But I’m managing to juggle the three just now and, to be fair, Oscar has made it easier because he is so content and such a great baby. I’m very blessed.”